Exception notification system and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method for distributing prepaid cash alternatives and resolving exceptions related to the sale of prepaid cash alternatives such as traveler&#39;s cheques or prepaid cards. Reports of sales may be reviewed to identify exceptions, and information explaining the exceptions may be made available electronically. Sellers may be notified of exceptions by e-mail, which may include a link or address to information explaining the exceptions. The information may be provided in real time through a secure site on a network, such as the Internet. A company may contract with business partners to sell the prepaid cash alternatives to customers, and the business partners may report the sales to the company via reports. After being notified of exceptions, business partners may provide corrected information or new information to resolve the exceptions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of, claims priority to and thebenefit of, U.S. Ser. No. 13/676,858 filed Nov. 14, 2012 and entitled“EXCEPTION NOTIFICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD.” The '858 application is acontinuation of, claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. Pat. No.8,317,095 issued on Nov. 27, 2012 (aka U.S. Ser. No. 13/244,177 filedSep. 23, 2011) and entitled “EXCEPTION NOTIFICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD.”The '095 patent is a continuation of, claims priority to and the benefitof, U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,801 issued Nov. 15, 2011 (aka U.S. Ser. No.12/349,741, filed on Jan. 7, 2009) and entitled “EXCEPTION NOTIFICATIONSYSTEM AND METHOD.” The '801 patent is a continuation of, claimspriority to and the benefit of, U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,911, issued on Feb.10, 2009 (aka U.S. Ser. No. 10/904,140, filed on Oct. 26, 2004) andentitled “EXCEPTION NOTIFICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD.” The '911 patentclaims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 60/584,896 filed Jul. 1, 2004, and entitled “Inventory TrackingSystem and Method.” All of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention generally relates to distribution of prepaid cashalternatives, and more particularly, to resolving exceptions related tothe sale of traveler's cheques and prepaid cards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traveler's cheques have been used for many years by travelers ratherthan cash because the traveler's cheques can be replaced withoutsignificant detriment if lost or stolen while traveling. In recentyears, travelers are often replacing printed paper traveler's chequeswith prepaid cards, which can be used similarly to a credit card, debitcard, or the like, except that prepaid cards are paid for in advance.Similar to traveler's cheques, prepaid cards can be replaced if lost orstolen, and may be easier and quicker to replace than credit cards,debit cards, gift cards, or the like. Travelers typically use or spendthe traveler's cheques or prepaid card balances at various businessessuch as retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, and the like. Thesebusinesses then collect the monetary value of the charge from theissuer, for example, through a payment network.

In the past, AMERICAN EXPRESS has sold traveler's cheques and prepaidcards to customers through a large number of business partners locatedthroughout the world. AMERICAN EXPRESS typically contracts with thesebusiness partners to sell AMERICAN EXPRESS traveler's cheques andprepaid cards to customers. AMERICAN EXPRESS typically requires that itsbusiness partners report sales to AMERICAN EXPRESS within a certain timeperiod after each sale, and remit the appropriate amount collected forthe sales to AMERICAN EXPRESS. AMERICAN EXPRESS typically reviewsreports from business partners, and sometimes discovers discrepancies orexceptions in the reports. Such exceptions may include, for example, adiscrepancy in the inventory of traveler's cheques, an error in chequeor card number, underpayment, overpayment, missing information,duplication, failure to report, or the like. In the past, AMERICANEXPRESS has communicated with business partners regarding exceptions,for example, by mail, phone, e-mail, or the like, in order to attempt toresolve the exceptions. Other companies in the traveler's cheques orprepaid cards business have typically used a similar system to resolveexceptions.

In the prior art, resolution of exceptions typically required theattention of personnel to assemble the necessary information, contactbusiness partners, and follow up if needed. In addition, a backlog ofexceptions would usually accumulate, resulting in delay in addressingeach exception. Further, some methods of communication, such as e-mail,were not secure and risks existed that confidential information would becompromised. Still further, in order to satisfy the business partners,exceptions were often corrected without the business partners being heldaccountable. As a result, business partners often did not learn or careto avoid repeating the same mistakes that caused the exceptions in thefirst place.

Therefore, a need exists for an improved system and method for notifyingbusiness partners of exceptions such that exceptions can be fully orpartially corrected in an efficient, timely, and secure manner. A needalso exists to facilitate business partners' learning from exceptionssuch that the exceptions are not often repeated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention includes methods and systems for facilitating thedistribution of prepaid cash alternatives and resolving exceptionsrelated to the sale of prepaid cash alternatives. The prepaid cashalternatives may be traveler's cheques or prepaid cards, for example.The invention may provide benefits including, for example, correctingexceptions in a more efficient, timely, and secure manner, andencouraging business partners to learn from exceptions in an effort toreduce or minimize repeat exceptions. Specifically, resolution ofexceptions may require less attention of personnel to assemble thenecessary information, contact business partners, and follow up ifneeded, and may reduce the need for paper correspondence, and reduce theneed for file space. In addition, a backlog of exceptions waiting to besent to business partners may be avoided, thus avoiding a delay inaddressing each exception. Further, in some embodiments, the inventionmay avoid insecure methods of communication, such as e-mail, which mayinvolve communicating confidential information that could potentially becompromised. Still further, business partners or their employees may beheld accountable or may suffer consequences for conduct that causesexceptions so that the business partners may be motivated to learn toavoid repeating the same mistakes that caused the exceptions in thefirst place.

In a specific embodiment, this invention includes method forfacilitating the distribution of prepaid cash alternatives that mayinclude selling a plurality of prepaid cash alternatives to customers,creating reports including information related to these sales,transmitting the reports to a host to facilitate the host reviewing thereports for exceptions, obtaining secure access through a network fromthe host to information that explains the exceptions, and, providingcorrected information, new information, or both, to the host through thenetwork to facilitate resolution of the exceptions. The method may alsoinclude receiving notification of the exceptions via e-mail, which mayinclude a link or an address to the information that explains theexceptions. The information that explains the exceptions may be obtainedin substantially real time, may be accessed through the Internet, andmay be located on a webpage at a website that provides passwordprotection. The corrected and new information may also be providedthrough an Internet webpage, and in some embodiments, the reports may betransmitted via the Internet.

In another specific embodiment, this invention provides a system forresolving exceptions related to the sale of prepaid cash alternativesthat includes a computer having at least one processor and at least onestorage medium configured to be read by the processor. The computer maybe connected to a network, and reports may be stored on the storagemedium that contain information related to the sales of cashalternatives that were submitted by associates who sold the cashalternatives. The computer may be configured to review the reports,identify exceptions in the reports, and make available to theassociates, through a secure site on the network, information thatexplains the exceptions. The computer may further be configured to allowthe associates to input corrected information, new information, or both,to resolve the exceptions, which may be submitted through the network.The computer may also be configured to automatically send e-mails to theassociates to notify them of at least some types of exceptions, and thee-mails may contain links, addresses, or both, to the information thatexplains the exceptions.

In yet another specific embodiment, this invention provides acomputer-readable storage medium containing a set of instructions for ageneral-purpose computer. The storage medium may contain instructions toreview reports regarding sales of prepaid cash alternatives, which mayinclude checking for exceptions. There may also be instructions toprovide secure access through a network to information explaining theexceptions, and instructions to allow input of corrected information,new information, or both, to resolve the exceptions. The storage mediummay also contain instructions to generate e-mails notifying of theexceptions. There may also be instructions to automatically react to anundeliverable e-mail by sending an e-mail to another e-mail address, forexample.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures in this document illustrate various exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, wherein like reference numerals represent likeelements. Embodiments of the invention may include part or all of thefeatures shown in one of these drawings, or may include features fromtwo or more figures. Accordingly,

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating various entities and componentsthat may participate in an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the components of a configurationof an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating various steps that may be completedin an exemplary method in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In general, the present invention includes methods and systems forfacilitating the distribution of prepaid cash alternatives and resolvingexceptions related to the sale of prepaid cash alternatives. Theinvention may include an exception firewall or a proactive exceptionreduction or elimination system and method. The exceptions may berelated to the sale of prepaid cash alternatives such as, for example,traveler's cheques or prepaid cards. The invention may include a hostcompany reviewing reports of sales, identifying exceptions in thereports, and providing information that explains the exceptions to theseller. In some embodiments, sellers may be notified of the exceptionsby e-mail, which may include a link or an address to the informationexplaining the exceptions. The information may be provided through asecure site on a network, such as the Internet, and may be presented inbatch mode, periodically, or in substantially real time.

A host (e.g., company) may contract with business partners to sellprepaid cash alternatives to customers, and the business partners maytransmit information related to the sales to the host in the form ofreports. After being notified of exceptions, business partners mayprovide corrected information or new information to resolve theexceptions. The system may be configured to react to an undeliverablee-mail, such as by sending an e-mail to another e-mail address. A systemmay include, for example, a processor, a network or a connection to anexisting network, and a storage medium configured to be read by thecomputer. Another embodiment of this invention includes acomputer-readable storage medium containing a set of instructions for ageneral-purpose computer that includes certain instructions inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates various entities and components which are involvedwith or comprise an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.System 10 includes customers 11, 12, 13, and 14, associates or businesspartners 15 and 16, network 17, host (e.g., trusted company) 18, andadvertisers 19. Host or trusted company 18 may have established a goodreputation in the minds of customers 11-14, for example, through yearsof consistent service, a positive reputation created by advertisers 19,or a combination thereof. Company 18 may have one or more respected orfamous trademarks or service marks, which may be promoted by advertisers19. Trusted company 18 may be in the business of providing prepaid cashalternatives to customers 11-14. Trusted company 18 may include, forexample, an entity, host, person, organization, government entity,non-profit organization, software and/or hardware. The company AMERICANEXPRESS is an example of host or trusted company 18.

The prepaid cash alternatives may include, for example, traveler'scheques, prepaid cards, gift cards, travel fund cards, rewards card,debit card, telephone card, embossed card, smart card, magnetic stripecard, bar code card, transponder, radio frequency card, an associatedaccount, or the like, provided they are paid for in advance.

For the convenience of customers 11-14, company 18 may provide a largenumber of business locations where customers 11-14 can purchase prepaidcash alternatives, obtain replacements for the cash alternatives if theyare lost or stolen, or the like. In FIG. 1, associates 15 and 16represent two of these locations. Associates 15 and 16 may be businesspartners or selling partners of host or company 18, and may bedistributors of company's 18 products. Associates 15 and 16 may bebanks, credit unions, merchants, travel agents, retailers, malls, AARP,or the like. Associates 15 and 16 may sell to customers 11-14, forexample, in person, through a website, by mail, by fax, or by phone, forexample. Company 18 may contract with associates 15 and 16 to sellcompany's 18 products, such as prepaid cash alternatives, to customers,such as customers 11-14. Associates 15 and 16 may display trademarks orservice marks of trusted company 18, and may advertise in other waysthat they sell and service products of company 18. A particularcustomer, such as customer 12, for example, may purchase traveler'scheques, as an example, from associate 15, but may then go to associate16 for replacement traveler's cheques if the original traveler's chequesare lost or stolen. Associate 16 may be located remote from associate15, such as in a different country. As used herein, associate may be aseparate company separate from company 18 (e.g., a business partner orselling partner), a division, branch, affiliate, subsidiary, owner, orpart of host or company 18, an entity, a person, an organization, agovernment entity, a non-profit organization, software, hardware, or acombination thereof.

Still referring to FIG. 1, associates 15 and 16 may communicate withhost or trusted company 18 through a network 17. Network 17 may be alocal area network (LAN) a wide area network (WAN), a credit cardnetwork, the Internet, or the like. Associates 15 and 16 may reportsales and other transactions involving company's 18 products to company18. In fact, associates 15 and 16 may be required to make such reportsby their contracts with company 18, for example, within a certain periodafter a sale is made. Associates 15 and 16 may report some or allinformation to company 18 electronically, for example, via network 17.

FIG. 2 illustrates various electronic components that are involved withor comprise an exemplary embodiment of the invention. System 20 includesassociate computers 25 and 26, network 17, processor 27, and storagemedium 28. Associate computers 25 and 26 may be owned, operated, orboth, by or for associates 15 and 16 illustrated in FIG. 1, for example.Similarly, Processor 27 and storage medium 28, may be owned, operated orboth, by or for host or trusted company 18, for example. Although twoassociate computers 25 and 26 are shown, and one processor 27 and onestorage medium 28, embodiments of the present invention may have more ofthese components. Further, processor 27 and storage medium 28 may becombined in one or more computers, servers, or the like. Associatecomputers 25 and 26 may interface with at least one processor 27 vianetwork 17, and processor 27 may interface with at least one storagemedium 28. Associate computers 25 and 26, and computer or processor 27,may each have a connection to, or may be in communication with, network17.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor (e.g., processor 27) for processing digital data; a memory(e.g., storage medium 28) coupled to the processor for storing digitaldata; an input digitizer coupled to the processor for inputting digitaldata; an application program stored in the memory and accessible by theprocessor for directing processing of digital data by the processor; adisplay device coupled to the processor and memory for displayinginformation derived from digital data processed by the processor; and aplurality of databases, which may be located on storage medium 28.Various databases used herein may include: seller data; inventory data;client data; merchant data; financial institution data; and/or like datauseful in the operation of the present invention.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, user computers, such asassociate computers 25 and 26, may include an operating system (e.g.,Windows NT, 95/98/2000, OS2, UNIX, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, etc.) as wellas various conventional support software and drivers typicallyassociated with computers. The computer may be or include a suitablepersonal computer, network computer, workstation, minicomputer,mainframe or the like. A user computer, such as associate computers 25and 26, may be in a business environment with access to network 17. Inan exemplary embodiment, access is through network 17 or the Internetthrough a commercially-available web-browser software package.

As used herein, the term “network” shall include an electroniccommunications network, and may incorporate hardware or softwarecomponents or both. Communication among the parties in accordance withthe present invention may be accomplished through suitable communicationchannels, such as, for example, an extranet, an intranet, Internet,point of interaction device (point of sale device, personal digitalassistant, kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellitecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications,transponder communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN), networked or linked devices, keyboard, mouse and/or a suitablecommunication or data input modality. Moreover, although the inventionmay be implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, the inventionmay also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI orother protocols. In embodiments where network 17 is a public network,such as the Internet, it may be advantageous to presume network 17 to beinsecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specific information related to theprotocols, standards, and application software utilized in connectionwith the Internet is generally known to those skilled in the art and, assuch, need not be detailed herein. See, for example, DILIP NAIK,INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, variousauthors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0(1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997) and DAVID GOURLEYAND B RIAN TOTTY, HTTP, THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE (2002), the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

The various system components may be independently, separately orcollectively suitably coupled to network 17 via data links which mayinclude, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)over the local loop as is typically used in connection with standardmodem communication, cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods, see,e.g., GILBERT HELD, UNDERSTANDING DATA COMMUNICATIONS (1996), which ishereby incorporated by reference. It is noted that network 17 may beimplemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. Moreover, the system contemplates the use,sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over anynetwork having similar functionality described herein.

As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic data from onesystem component to another over a network connection. Additionally, asused herein, “data” may include encompassing information such ascommands, queries, files, data for storage, and the like in digital oranother form.

Databases discussed herein, such as databases on storage medium 28, maybe relational, hierarchical, graphical, object-oriented, and/or otherdatabase configurations. Common database products that may be used toimplement the invention include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), variousdatabase products available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores,Calif.), Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server by MicrosoftCorporation (Redmond, Wash.), or another suitable database product.Moreover, the databases may be organized in a suitable manner, forexample, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may be a singlefile, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or another datastructure. Association of certain data may be accomplished through adesired data association technique such as those known or practiced inthe art. For example, the association may be accomplished eithermanually or automatically. Automatic association techniques may include,for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL,and/or the like. The association step may be accomplished by a databasemerge function, for example, using a “key field” in pre-selecteddatabases or data sectors.

More particularly, a “key field” may partition a database according tothe high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example,certain types of data may be designated as a key field in a plurality ofrelated data tables and the data tables may then be linked on the basisof the type of data in the key field. The data corresponding to the keyfield in each of the linked data tables may be the same or of the sametype. However, data tables having similar, though not identical, data inthe key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, for example. Inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention, a suitable datastorage technique may be utilized to store data without a standardformat. Data sets may be stored using a suitable technique, including,for example, storing individual files using an ISO/IEC 7816-4 filestructure; implementing a domain whereby a dedicated file is selectedthat exposes one or more elementary files containing one or more datasets; using data sets stored in individual files using a hierarchicalfiling system; data sets stored as records in a single file (includingcompression, SQL accessible, hashed via one or more keys, numeric,alphabetical by first tuple, etc.); block of binary (BLOB); stored asungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC 7816-6 data elements;stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC Abstract SyntaxNotation (ASN.1) as in ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825; and/or other proprietarytechniques that may include fractal compression methods, imagecompression methods, etc.

In one exemplary embodiment, the ability to store a wide variety ofinformation in different formats is facilitated by storing theinformation as a Binary Large Object (BLOB). Thus, binary informationmay be stored in a storage space associated with a data set. Asdiscussed above, the binary information may be stored on the financialtransaction instrument or external to but affiliated with the financialtransaction instrument. The BLOB method may store data sets as ungroupeddata elements formatted as a block of binary via a fixed memory offsetusing either fixed storage allocation, circular queue techniques, orbest practices with respect to memory management (e.g., paged memory,least recently used, etc.). By using BLOB methods, the ability to storevarious data sets that have different formats facilitates the storage ofdata associated with the financial transaction instrument by multipleand unrelated owners of the data sets. For example, a first data setwhich may be stored may be provided by a first party, a second data setwhich may be stored may be provided by an unrelated second party, andyet a third data set which may be stored, may be provided by an thirdparty unrelated to the first and second party. Each of these threeexemplary data sets may contain different information that is storedusing different data storage formats and/or techniques. Further, eachdata set may contain subsets of data that also may be distinct fromother subsets.

As stated above, in various embodiments of the present invention, datacan be stored, for example, in storage medium 28, without regard to acommon format. However, in one exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the data set (e.g., BLOB) may be annotated in a standardmanner when provided for manipulating the data onto the financialtransaction instrument. The annotation may comprise a short header,trailer, or other appropriate indicator related to each data set that isconfigured to convey information useful in managing the various datasets. For example, the annotation may be called a “condition header”,“header”, “trailer”, or “status”, herein, and may comprise an indicationof the status of the data set or may include an identifier correlated toa specific issuer or owner of the data. In one example, the first threebytes of each data set BLOB may be configured or configurable toindicate the status of that particular data set; e.g., LOADED,INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED. Subsequent bytes ofdata may be used to indicate for example, the identity of the issuer,user, transaction/membership account identifier or the like. Thesecondition annotations may be discussed further herein.

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based on thetransaction, seller, merchant, issuer, user or the like. Furthermore,the security information may restrict/permit only certain actions suchas accessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, thedata set annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the userare permitted to delete a data set, various identified users may bepermitted to access the data set for reading, and others are altogetherexcluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restrictionparameters may also be used allowing various entities to access a dataset with various permission levels as appropriate.

The data, including the header or trailer may be received by a standalone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify, or augmentthe data in accordance with the header or trailer. As such, in oneembodiment, the header or trailer is not stored on the transactiondevice along with the associated issuer-owned data but instead theappropriate action may be taken by providing to the transactioninstrument user at the stand alone device, the appropriate option forthe action to be taken. The present invention may contemplate a datastorage arrangement wherein the header or trailer, or header or trailerhistory, of the data is stored on the transaction instrument in relationto the appropriate data.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,databases, systems, devices, servers or other components of the presentinvention, such as storage medium 28 or the databases thereon, mayconsist of a combination thereof at a single location or at multiplelocations, wherein each database or system may include various suitablesecurity features, such as firewalls, access codes, encryption,decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

The computers discussed herein, such as computer or processor 27 andstorage medium 28, may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users,such as associates 15 and 16. In one embodiment, the Microsoft InternetInformation Server (IIS), Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), andMicrosoft SQL Server, are used in conjunction with the Microsoftoperating system, Microsoft NT web server software, a Microsoft SQLServer database system, and a Microsoft Commerce Server. Additionally,components such as Access or Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase,Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may be used to provide an Active DataObject (ADO) compliant database management system. In one embodiment,software provided by Siebel Systems, Inc. may be used, for example, forproviding secure, password-protected web-based services for associates15 and 16. In addition to other services, software or systems mayprovide inventory management, tracking the status of shipments,inventory statements, downloadable inventory shipment data,acknowledgement of receipt, or a combination thereof.

The communications, inputs, storage, databases or displays discussedherein may be facilitated through a website having web pages. The term“web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the type ofdocuments and applications that might be used to interact with the user.For example, a typical website might include, in addition to standardHTML documents, various forms, Java applets, JavaScript, active serverpages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts (CGI), extensible markuplanguage (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), helperapplications, plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a web servicethat receives a request from a web server, the request including a URL(http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge) and an IP address (123.56.789). Theweb server may retrieve the appropriate web pages and send the data orapplications for the web pages to the IP address. Web services may beapplications that are capable of interacting with other applicationsover a communications system, such as the interne. Web services may bebased on standards or protocols such as XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI. Webservices methods are generally well known in the art, and are covered inmany standard texts. See, e.g., ALEX NGHIEM, IT WEB SERVICES: A ROADMAPFOR THE ENTERPRISE (2003), hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Further, the present invention may be described herein in terms offunctional block components, screen shots, optional selections andvarious processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functionalblocks may be realized by a number of hardware and/or softwarecomponents configured to perform the specified functions. For example,the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components,e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-uptables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions underthe control of one or more microprocessors, such as processor 27, orother control devices. Similarly, the software elements of the presentinvention may be implemented with a programming or scripting languagesuch as C, C++, Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, Visual Basic, SQL StoredProcedures, extensible markup language (XML), with the variousalgorithms being implemented with a combination of data structures,objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, itshould be noted that the present invention may employ a number ofconventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, dataprocessing, network control, and the like. Still further, the inventionmay be used to detect or prevent security issues with a client-sidescripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For abasic introduction of cryptography and network security, see thefollowing references: (1) “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms,And Source Code In C,” by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons(second edition, 1996); (2) “Java Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson,published by O'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) “Cryptography & NetworkSecurity: Principles & Practice” by William Stallings, published byPrentice Hall; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the presentinvention may be embodied as a customization of an existing system, anadd-on product, upgraded software, a stand alone system, a distributedsystem, a method, a data processing system, a device for dataprocessing, and/or a computer program product. Accordingly, the presentinvention may take the form of an entirely software embodiment, anentirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of bothsoftware and hardware. Furthermore, the present invention may take theform of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program code embodied in the storage medium,such as storage medium 28, for example. A suitable computer-readablestorage medium 28 may be utilized, which may include hard disks, CD-ROM,optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.

The present invention is described herein with reference to blockdiagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus (e.g.,systems), and computer program products according to various aspects ofthe invention. It will be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and the flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations,respectively, can be implemented by computer program instructions.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such as processor 27, storagemedium 28, or both, such that the instructions that execute on thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus implement thefunctions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computerprogram instructions may be stored in a computer-readable memory, suchas storage medium 28, that can direct a computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, such as processor 27, to function in aparticular manner, which may implement, for example, the functionspecified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer programinstructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to beperformed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps forimplementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instructions for performing the specified functions. It willalso be understood that the functional blocks of the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by eitherspecial purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions.

One embodiment of the present invention includes a system for resolvingexceptions related to the sale of prepaid cash alternatives, that maycontain some of the components of system 20 illustrated in FIG. 2. Thesystem may include at least one processor 27, a network 17 or aconnection to an existing network 17, and at least one storage medium 28configured to be read by processor 17. The system may be configured toreview reports of sales of cash alternatives, which may be, for example,submitted by entities such as associates 15 and 16 who sell the cashalternatives. These reports may be submitted via associate computers 25and 26, and network 17, to processor 27. The system may be configured toidentify exceptions in the reports, and the system may be, in at leastsome embodiments, configured to make available to the associate, forexample, through a secure site on network 17, information that explainsthe exceptions. Such information may be stored, for example, on storagemedium 28. Further, the system may be configured to allow the associatesto input corrected information, new information, or both, to resolve theexceptions. Such information may be input via associate computers 25 or26, and through network 17, to processor 27, to storage medium 28, orboth. In at least some embodiments, some or all of these steps may beautomated, computer implemented, or the like, for example, usingprocessor 27, storage medium 28, or both.

The system may further be configured to automatically send e-mails tothe entities such as associate 15 or 16 to notify the associates of atleast some types of the exceptions. Such e-mails may contain a link oran address to the information explaining the exceptions, for example, onstorage medium 28. Network 17 may be, for example, the Internet, and theinformation explaining the exceptions may be located at a website, whichmay be stored on storage medium 28. Such a website may include passwordprotection. Further, the corrected or new information may be providedthrough the website, and the reports may be submitted via the Internet.

Still another specific embodiment of the present invention includes acomputer-readable storage medium 28 containing a set of instructions fora general-purpose computer (such as a computer that includes processor27) that includes instructions to review reports regarding sales ofprepaid cash alternatives. This review may include checking forexceptions, and instructions may also be provided to generate e-mailsnotifying of the exceptions. Such e-mails may be directed to, forexample, associate 15 or 16, and may be sent, for example, via network17. These e-mails may contain, for example, a link or an address toinformation explaining the exceptions (which may be located, forexample, on storage medium 28), and instructions to allow input ofcorrected information, new information, or both, to resolve theexceptions. The reports, the corrected information, the new information,or a combination thereof, may be, for example, submitted through apassword protected website. The storage medium 28 may further includeinstructions to automatically react to an undeliverable e-mail, such asby sending an e-mail to another e-mail address. As examples, if ane-mail to a particular individual within associate 15 is returned asundeliverable, then an e-mail may be sent to another individual withinassociate 15, or to a general e-mail address for associate 15, or to aperson or group within company 18 who may then contact associate 15another way. The host 18 may include a profile of each associate withprimary, secondary, etc email addresses from which the system may obtainalternative email addresses.

Further, the information explaining the exceptions may be presented insubstantially real time. In other words, rather than duplicatinginformation stored in storage medium 28 to send that information toassociate 16, the system may allow associate 16 access to viewinformation stored in storage medium 28 directly, so that if company 18inputs changes to the information, associate 16 will be able to seethose changes essentially at the same time they are entered. Forinstance, in embodiments where associate 16 accesses information byviewing a webpage, associate 16 may be able to obtain updatedinformation if associate 16 opens or refreshes the page within a shorttime after the information is updated by company 18. This short time maybe, for example, the time it requires for the computers, network, andthe like, to transmit the information. This may be, for example, just afew seconds or just a few minutes. The invention also contemplatespartial updates, batch mode updates, periodic updates and other types ofupdate routines.

Proceeding to a method 30 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention, FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating various stepsthat may be completed. These steps may also be implemented by a systemin accordance with the present invention, or instructions to accomplishthese steps may be stored on a computer readable storage medium, such asstorage medium 28. A specific embodiment of the invention includes amethod 30 of distributing prepaid cash alternatives, which may includethe step of host or trusted company 18 contracting (step 31), forexample, with a plurality of business partners such as associates 15 and16, to sell the prepaid cash alternatives. The associates 15 and 16 maysell (step 32) the cash alternatives to customers 11-14 and recordcertain data related to the sales. This data may include, for example,the name of the customer, other identifying information of the customer,traveler's cheque numbers, prepaid card numbers, the amount of moneycollected, or the like. Associates 15 and 16 may report (step 33) thesales (from step 32) to the company 18 via reports that contain thedata.

The company 18 may then review the reports (step 34), for example, forexceptions (step 35). Exceptions may be identified (step 35)automatically (e.g., by computer) or from human review of the data. Acomputer, such as processor 27, may first review a report (step 34) andidentify exceptions (step 35). Exceptions may be identified, forexample, by identifying missing information, identifying traveler'scheque or prepaid card numbers that are not recognizable, recognizingthat the same traveler's cheque has been sold more than once, or thelike. Trained personnel may then review the exceptions identified by thecomputer to verify that they are in fact exceptions, may review thereport and identify additional exceptions not found by the computer, orboth. If exceptions are found (in step 35), then company 18 may notify(step 36) the relevant associate(s) 15 or 16, of the exceptions. Thenotification may include notification to all related associates (e.g.,chain of merchant stores), one particular merchant or any group orsubset of merchants, the main office of an associate, a representativeor subcontractor of an associate, or the like.

Exceptions may be classified and assigned error codes, which may beprovided in the notification (step 36) or may be used within host orcompany 18, for example, for tracking and analyzing exceptions,evaluating or assisting associates 15 or 16, etc. Many different typesof exceptions and many different error codes may exist, 300, forexample. The error codes may identify the type of exception, orcategorize the exceptions. Exceptions may include, for example,inventory issues, product or check stream number errors, duplicatepayment, underpayment, overpayment, errors in identifying who made thesale, missing information, unclear or unrecognizable information,failure to report sales or the like.

Notification (step 36) may be by e-mail, for example, which may includeproviding a link or an address to information explaining the exceptions.In other embodiments notification may be by phone, facsimile, pager,blackberry, etc. Method 30 may include the step of providing access toassociates 15 and 16, through a network 17, to information (step 37).Although the present invention may include various forms and channels ofcommunication, as used herein, the phrase “access through a network”includes being able to read or view text, numbers, or both, on a websiteor in a computer database, from a remote location, but excludesproviding information by audio or voice transmission, by fax, by e-mail,by regular mail or paper document, or by personnel physically going to afacility, for example, occupied by the host. The information (providedin step 37) may, for example, explain the exceptions. Notifications maybe sent (step 36), for example, at periodic intervals, such as on adaily basis, or immediately when exceptions are detected (step 35). Insome embodiments, associates 15 or 16 may be notified (step 36) ofexceptions in other ways, such as by visiting a secure website whereexceptions are posted. Notifications may include, for example, astatement that one or more exceptions exist, error codes, a briefdescription of the type of exception, a link or address to additionalinformation on the exception, which may include information thatexplains the exceptions, information regarding the prepaid cashalternatives, information regarding sales, information regardingreports, or the like.

Associates 15 and 16 may also submit payments to company 18 for sales ofprepaid cash alternatives by submitting an electronic payment ortransaction account number, for example. Information regarding payment,or access to information, may be provided by company 18 to associates 15and 16, for example, through a website (e.g., in step 37). In someembodiments, associates 15 and 16 may have the ability to view real timesales, payment, and unsettled discrepancies (e.g., exceptions) relatedto the sale and encashment of various products, including, for example,prepaid cash alternatives.

After associates are notified (step 36) of exceptions, the associate 15or 16 may then provide corrected information, new information, or both,to company 18, which may be through network 17, to resolve theexceptions. In other words, the associate 15 or 16 may correct theexceptions (step 38). Associate 15 or 16 may correct exceptions (step38) by generating a service request, for example, which may be submittedby e-mail, or through a website, for example. Information that isprovided may include, for example, corrected traveler's cheque orprepaid card numbers, corrected dollar amounts, corrected customeridentification information, or new information for any of these fields.For some embodiments, the corrected or new information may resolve somekinds of exceptions without human interaction on the part of the host,while other types of exceptions may involve human oversight. In otherembodiments, resolution of exceptions may be fully automated, or mayalways be reviewed by appropriate personnel.

In some embodiments, associates 15 or 16 may outsource or contract outvarious functions to a third party, which may include reporting (step33) and correcting exceptions (step 38). In such embodiments, the thirdparty may be notified (step 36), provided access to information (step37), or both. Further, the host or company 18 may outsource or contractout various functions otherwise performed by company 18. Thus, as usedherein “associate” shall include the associate, an employee of theassociate, or a representative or subcontractor of the associateauthorized by the associate to perform the relevant task. Similarly, asused herein “host” shall include the host, an employee of the host, or arepresentative or subcontractor of the host authorized by the host toperform the relevant task.

Network 17 may be the Internet, and the information (provided in step37) explaining the exceptions (identified in step 35) may be located ata website, which may be secured, such as through password protection,encryption, or both. Further, the corrected information or newinformation (of step 38) may be, for example, provided through network17, such as by e-mail or through the website. Still further, theassociates 15 and 16 may submit the reports (of step 33) via theInternet (network 17). Follow up notifications may be sent later (step36) if needed, for example, if the associate 15 or 16 does not correctall of the exceptions (step 38). Follow up notifications may be sent toassociate 15 or 16, for example, or to the responsible person or groupwithin company 18, who then may contact associate 15 or 16 through othercommunication means or take other appropriate action. Correctingexceptions (step 38) may include submitting comments explaining theexceptions, and these comments may be reviewed by the appropriatepersonnel of company 18.

Since associates 15 and 16 correcting of exceptions (step 38) takes timeand manpower, associates 15 and 16 may have an incentive to avoidcreating exceptions. This may motivate associates 15 and 16 to implementwhatever changes are necessary to their systems and procedures to avoidcreating exceptions. In some embodiments, associates 15 and 16 may begiven other incentives to avoid exceptions, such as withholding paymentuntil exceptions are resolved, charging a fee or penalty, or the like.

Various embodiments of the present invention may be part of a larger webbased system and method of inventory management services. In oneembodiment, the invention includes a secure, password-protected, global,web-based platform with 24×7 web support. The invention may includevarious inventory management systems and methods including, for example,tracking of shipments, status of shipments, inventory statements,downloadable inventory shipment data and acknowledgement of receipt;interactive service requests; reconciliation exception resolution;notification process for reconciliation issues; on-line materials;and/or frequently asked questions. The invention may allow a seller,such as associates 15 or 16, to manage their own account hierarchyand/or access levels through website administrative functionality. Theinvention may further provide reporting and query capabilities (e.g., byvolume, type, initiator, etc.). Internal views may allow the host orother support groups to capture and track seller interactions (e.g.,phone, web, fax, mail), thereby helping to reduce repeat calls andre-work. Tracking may also facilitate the re-routing of seller issues tothe relevant support group. Thus the invention may reduce paperintensive processes, and may result in a reduction of phone and mailinteractions, for example, between associates 15 and 16 and trustedcompany 18. The invention may also reduce operating expenses (e.g., byautomating and web-enabling services), increase turn-around time,increase customer retention, provide a better overall picture ofcustomer needs, or a combination of these benefits.

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the inventionherein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show theexemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best mode. Whilethese exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should beunderstood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical andmechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Thus, the detailed description herein ispresented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. Forexample, the steps recited in the method or process descriptions may beexecuted in any order and are not limited to the order presented.

Further, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and element(s) that maycause benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronouncedare not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features orelements of the claims or the invention. Reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly sostated, but rather “one or more.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”,“comprising”, or a variation thereof, are intended to cover anon-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, orapparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only thoseelements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, no elementdescribed herein is required for the practice of the invention unlessexpressly described as “essential” or “critical”.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: providing, by a computerbased system for resolving exceptions and via a webpage having passwordprotection, exceptions; and providing, by the computer based system andvia the webpage, at least one of corrected information about at least asubset of the exceptions and new information about at least a subset ofthe exceptions to facilitate resolution of at least a subset of theexceptions.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, bythe computer based system, information that explains the exceptions. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, by the computerbased system, information that explains the exceptions via at least oneof a link and an address to the information that explains theexceptions.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, by thecomputer based system, notification of at least a subset of theexceptions via electronic notification.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising sending, by the computer based system, an electronicnotification to a second address, in response to an undeliverableelectronic notification to a first address.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising creating, by the computer based system, a reportregarding a distribution of the prepaid cash alternatives, wherein thereport includes the exceptions.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising reviewing, by the computer based system, a report for theexceptions, wherein the report includes information related to adistribution of prepaid cash alternatives to a plurality of customers.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the exceptions relate to reports aboutdistribution of prepaid cash alternatives.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the webpage enables secure access through a network to theinformation that explains the exceptions in substantially real time. 10.The method of claim 1, further comprising sending notification of atleast a subset of the exceptions via electronic notification, whereinthe electronic notification comprises at least one of a link and anaddress to the information that explains the exceptions.
 11. The methodof claim 1, wherein the exceptions comprise at least one of adiscrepancy in an inventory, an incorrect card code, underpayment,overpayment, missing information, duplication and failure to report. 12.A method comprising: accessing, by a computer based system for analyzingexceptions, the exceptions on a webpage at a website having passwordprotection; and submitting, by the computer based system and via thewebpage, at least one of corrected information about the exceptions andnew information about the exceptions to facilitate resolution of theexceptions.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing, bythe computer based system, information that explains the exceptions. 14.The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing, by the computerbased system, information that explains the exceptions via at least oneof a link and an address to information that explains the exceptions.15. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving, by thecomputer based system, notification of at least a subset of theexceptions via electronic notification.
 16. The method of claim 12,further comprising receiving, by the computer based system, anelectronic notification to a second address, in response to anundeliverable electronic notification to a first address.
 17. The methodof claim 12, further comprising receiving, by the computer based system,a report regarding a distribution of prepaid cash alternatives, whereinthe report includes the exceptions.
 18. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising reviewing, by the computer based system, a report for theexceptions, wherein the report includes information related to adistribution of prepaid cash alternatives to a plurality of customers.19. The method of claim 12, wherein the webpage enables secure accessthrough a network to the information that explains the exceptions insubstantially real time.
 20. A system comprising: a processor forresolving exceptions, a tangible, non-transitory memory configured tocommunicate with the processor, the tangible, non-transitory memoryhaving instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by theprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:providing, by the processor and via a webpage having passwordprotection, exceptions; and providing, by the processor and via thewebpage, at least one of corrected information about at least a subsetof the exceptions and new information about at least a subset of theexceptions to facilitate resolution of at least a subset of theexceptions.